Moqueca Bahian Fish Stew Recipes

Steps:

• Make the farofa if desired: Melt butter in a skillet or shallow saucepan on medium heat. Add sliced onion, and cook, stirring, until it turns light brown. Stir in manioc and cook, stirring, 5 to 8 minutes, until it starts to toast. Cover and keep warm.
• Make the fish broth: Cut each bass fillet in 4 or 5 pieces, cover and refrigerate. Place trimmings in a 3-quart stovetop casserole, preferably an earthenware pot. Lightly salt shrimp, cover and refrigerate. Place shells in the pot. Add 5 cups water; the bay leaves; the turnip; 2 onions, chopped; 2 tomatoes, chopped; half the shishito peppers; the garlic; and half the cilantro and chives. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut a slit in the skin of the plantain, wrap in foil and bake 20 minutes, until flesh is tender. Cool.
• Strain broth into a bowl, pressing on the solids. Discard solids and return broth to pot. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups.
• Slice remaining tomatoes and remaining onion 1/4 inch thick and add to pot. Add bell peppers, Cubanelle peppers, remaining shishito peppers, remaining chives and all but 1 tablespoon remaining cilantro. Bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
• Peel plantain and slice it 1/2 inch thick. Add to pot. Add coconut milk and dende oil. Add fish and octopus, if using, and simmer 5 minutes. Rinse and dry shrimp and squid, if using, and add to pot. Simmer 3 minutes. Check seasonings. Strew remaining cilantro on top, garnish with a red chile and serve over rice directly from the pot, with farofa and piri-piri on the side.

Steps:

• Rinse sea bass under running cold water; pat dry. Place in a shallow dish and season with lime juice, garlic, and salt. Marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add grated onion and cook for a few seconds. Add fish and marinade to the skillet and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in palm oil and onion rings, followed by water and coconut milk. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add green bell pepper, red bell pepper, tomatoes, cilantro, and green onions; cover and cook until vegetables are soft and flavors are well combined, about 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Place the fish in a large non-reactive mixing bowl. In the carafe of a blender, combine the chopped onion, the chopped tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of cilantro, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the lime juice. Blend until smooth in the blender, then pour directly over the fish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, and once hot, add the julienned onions to the pan and saute, stirring often until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the pan and saute for an additional 30 seconds. Pour the fish and the marinade into the saute pan and add the remaining teaspoon of salt, the Piri Piri, and the coconut milk and stir to combine. Once the liquid comes to a boil, dot the top of the pan with the sliced tomatoes and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the flesh starts to flake, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the cover from the pan and sprinkle the remaining 4 tablespoons of cilantro over the fish. Serve accompanied by steamed white rice.
• Heat a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and peppers to the pan. Saute, stirring often, until the edges of the garlic start to turn brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the pan, and remove from the heat.
• Place the contents of the saute pan in a blender and add the salt. Puree the peppers and garlic in the blender until mostly smooth. Drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil through the feed tube of the lid of the blender. Let cool before using, and store refrigerated in an airtight container.

Steps:

• In workbowl of a food processor chop cilantro, tomato, green pepper and onion to a coarse paste. Heat paste in a large heavy skillet over low heat for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add haddock and drained shrimp. Cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes. Add lemon juice, coconut milk and dende and simmer 5 minutes more. Serve, passing Malagueta peppers;

Steps:

• Place the prawns in a bowl with 2 tbsp of the lime juice, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of the chopped garlic. Chill for 1 hr.
• Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add the spring onion and onion and fry for 5 mins, then add the red pepper, chilli flakes, paprika and remaining garlic.
• Pour in the tomatoes, coconut milk and a little salt. Bring to a simmer and let reduce for 10 mins. Add the prawns, all the marinade and remaining lime juice. Gently simmer until the prawns turn white, about 3 mins. Serve with the fresh coriander and rice.

Steps:

• Set eggs on to boil.
• Stir together the lime juice, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper in a non-reactive bowl. Add the Tilapia and GENTLY toss with your fingers to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes being careful not to let the fish "cook" in the lime juice.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and the diced chilies until onions are transparent and beginning to lightly brown. Wash hands thoroughly after handling the chilies.
• Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the tomato paste.
• Add the bell peppers and diced tomatoes to the pot in succeeding layers. Pour the coconut milk over the mixture. Stir well but gently.
• Cover the pot and simmer on lowest heat for 15- 30 minutes or until the peppers are at a consistency you like, stirring occasionally.
• Gently add the fish, marinade and 2/3 of the chopped and stemmed cilantro and continue cooking until the fish is thoroughly cooked. Allow 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.
• Ladle or gently pour the Moqueca into a large serving bowl, garnish with boiled egg wedges on top and finish with remaining chopped cilantro.
• Serve over white rice, with lime wedges. Side dishes: sauteed collards or spinach and garlic. For dessert, cold orange slices. Also a good accompaniment: Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) ( it's gluten/wheat free)!
• Slow Cooker Variation:.
• Place ALL ingredients including the marinade in the slow cooker EXCEPT the FISH pieces and cilantro). Cook 6 to 8 hours (overnight) on low and then to WARM.
• 1 hour prior to serving, return cooker to LOW: ADD half the cilantro and the fish.
• Gently spoon sauce over fish pieces and allow fish to cook for 1 hour until the fish is cooked through. Garnish and serve as described above.